From Humiliation to Motivation: How Ten Hag Sparked a Fire in Man United’s Flops
Erik ten Hag uses videos of Liverpool defeating Manchester United to motivate and incite anger in the team, and also seeks the help of a psychologist.
After Manchester United’s crushing 7-0 defeat to Liverpool, Erik ten Hag has increased his team’s sessions with the club’s psychologist. Despite the team’s impressive recent performances, they had a disastrous game at Anfield.
Erik ten Hag was extremely unhappy with Manchester United’s second-half collapse against Liverpool, where they conceded six goals after going 1-0 down to Cody Gakpo’s goal. The Daily Mail reports that Ten Hag was particularly concerned about the team’s weak mentality during the game, leading to a strenuous training session on Monday morning. Although he didn’t play the entire 7-0 defeat to his players, he did show selected clips to motivate them and make them angry. Additionally, he made the players listen to Liverpool’s celebration in silence after the match. Ten Hag emphasized that the performance was unacceptable and that it was a big disappointment for the fans, especially against a rival like Liverpool. However, he acknowledged that it was only one game, albeit a major defeat.
“We will bounce back. This team is strong enough to go, reset itself, and we will bounce back. I know my players, they are good characters, and they can bounce back and they will do.”
Erik ten Hag is confident that Manchester United will recover from their defeat and bounce back. He believes that his players have strong characters and are capable of resetting themselves. Despite the disappointing result, he doesn’t want his team to lose confidence, given their recent excellent performance. To avoid a long-standing issue, he plans to use sports psychologist Rainier Koers more frequently. Koers was hired by Ten Hag when he became the team’s head coach, and he will now work to ensure that the team’s devastating collapse against Liverpool doesn’t have a lasting impact.
